Dec 1, 2012

Hanging Picture Puzzle

Suppose we have a portrait hung on a wall using one nail. Now, suppose we
hammer another nail next to the existing one and try to use both nails to
hang the portrait. If any nail breaks, the portrait continues to hang
safely. Can we hang the portrait in such a way that if any one nail breaks
the portrait must fall down?

Generalize to k nails: Hang a portrait on k nails such that if any one nail
breaks, the portrait must fall down.

You assume that the picture is actually just literally hanging on a string. I believe the standard hanging picture puzzle assumes that the picture has two points where strings are fixed, much like tied on nails on the picture. With that assumption, your solution will not work.

But given your assumption, I think your solution is great and amazing.

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About Me

I am an early stage technology investor at Nexus Venture Partners. Prior to this, I was a 3x product entrepreneur. Prior to this, I worked as a private equity analyst at Blackstone and as a quant analyst at Morgan Stanley. I graduated from Department of Computer Science and Engineering of IIT Bombay. I enjoy Economics, Dramatics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Business.

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